UAE Quits OPEC, Reshapes Oil Alliance

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Tuesday it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ alliance, with the withdrawal taking effect on May 1. The move takes a major producer out of a group that has been associated with managing about 41% of global oil supply.

Officials framed the decision as driven by “national interests.” The UAE has a production capacity of 4.8 million barrels per day, and the source material notes it has potential to raise output beyond that level.

National interests cited as UAE sets exit date

OPEC is designed to coordinate petroleum policies among members and support oil-price stability through production quotas. The UAE joined the organization in 1967, seven years after OPEC was founded in September 1960 by five countries.

The UAE’s departure also covers OPEC+, the cooperation format created in 2016 that brought in non-OPEC producers, including Russia. That broader structure has been used to extend coordination beyond OPEC’s membership and increase the alliance’s influence in the oil market.

Foreign policy differences with other members, including Saudi Arabia

The source material links the decision to a period of widening foreign policy differences between the UAE and other OPEC members, particularly Saudi Arabia. It describes the UAE as pursuing a more assertive regional posture while strengthening ties with the United States and Israel.

Those shifts have contributed to disagreements on strategic questions, including the conflict in Yemen, according to the source material. The UAE’s announcement comes after these divergences, and it did not cite quota mechanics directly in the excerpt provided.

OPEC has seen other exits tied to quota disputes

The UAE’s withdrawal adds to a list of countries that have left OPEC in the past. The source material cites Indonesia, Qatar, Ecuador, Angola, and Gabon as examples, and says departures have often been linked to disputes over output quotas.

With the UAE leaving both OPEC and OPEC+, the alliance will lose a member with significant capacity and stated room to expand production. How the remaining members adjust coordination after May 1 was not detailed in the source material.